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| EDITORIAL |
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| Year : 1987 | Volume
: 35
| Issue : 2 | Page : 59 |
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Contact lenses-Are they safe enough?
S Tony Fernandez
CBM Oph. Institute, Little Flower Hospital, Angamally-683 572 Kerala, India
Correspondence Address:
S Tony Fernandez
CBM Oph. Institute, Little Flower Hospital, Angamally-683 572 Kerala
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
PMID: 3450618 
How to cite this article:
Fernandez S T. Contact lenses-Are they safe enough?. Indian J Ophthalmol 1987;35:59 |
Contact Lenses are widely used both for cosmetic and therapeutic purposes. In a developing country like ours the use of the lenses are becoming popular and the number of contact lenses prescribed is bound to go up. It is only appropriate therefore that we become aware of the likely complications that might occur. In a review made on the latest published papers, Dr. V.K Dada & Dr. Rajiv Sharma have emphasised the various complications like infection both bacterial and fungal, damage to the epithelium, substantia propria and even the endothelium and have discussed better methods of sterilisation and better fitting to reduce the complications The material, used for manufacturing contact lens should be resistant to infection, easy to clean and have good oxygen permeability.
The materials used at present especially for Soft Lenses do not satisfy the above criteria Contact Lens specialists are becoming highly conscious of the insufficient oxygen supply to the cornea in patients using soft contact lenses and new polymers like silicon and carbon fluoride components are used now to overcome these problems [1].
Though Refractive Keratoplasty and Intra Ocular Lens Implants have reduced the use of contact lenses, there are still some fields in which the use of contact lenses is likely to remain popular like indolent comeal ulcers, bullous keratopathy, dry eye syndromes, anisometropia and aphakia in children (till epikeratophakia becomes popular). There are reports that soft lenses can be used to augment the drug delivery system to the cornea [2].
The main factors to be emphasised for trouble free contact lens fitting
1. The care taken in the fitting of the lenses by the specialist 2. Motivation and tolerance of the patient 3. Reliable sterilisation methods 4. Safe lens material and excellent manufacturing technique. 5. Wetting and cleaning solutions - their sterility and contents
In spite of the high standards maintained in the Western world, complications do occur and if such complications occur in India, they will be worse Until we have a national agency like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in U. S.A, to monitor the standard, we cannot be very sure of the quality of the lenses or solutions used in India The doubt will always linger in our minds Contact lenses - are they safe enough ?
| References | |  |
| 1. | Prof. Dr. Eria Graber Ascheftenburgh, The relative importance of material, oxygen permeability and lens geometry, 19th Contact Lens Congress Aschoftenburg, 1986, Titmus Eruocon Kontaktlinsen GmbH, Goldbacjer Stra Bc 57-D-8750 Aschftenburg.  |
| 2. | Effect of Therapeutic Contact Lenses on Antibiotic delivery to the cornea, Alice Y. Makoba et al, Ophthalmology, 92: 97-99, Jan. 1985. |
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